


and the moon is the only light we'll see

by thisaintascene



Category: Power Rangers (2017)
Genre: Canon Autistic Character, Everyone is Queer, F/F, M/M, Multi, Trans Character, ZACK TAYLOR IS A TRANS BOY, and kinda poly, but nobody dies, it will be sad maybe in the future, just moments of their friendships and the development of their relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-09
Updated: 2017-11-03
Packaged: 2018-10-16 22:04:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10580403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisaintascene/pseuds/thisaintascene
Summary: Spending the night at the campfire every few days becomes their tradition.(And in those nights, they learn a little bit more about each other)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly don't know what this is. I've watched the movie only once (here in spain it came out yesterday), so i'm very sorry if i get some details wrong. I'll probably go see it again on Wednesday.

Zack breaks the silence one Friday while they’re walking out of the hole in which they’ve been training all day without stopping.

 

They’re all sweaty and disgusting.

 

Trini’s shirt has been ripped open by a particularly brutal fight with Jason, and she swears she can feel Kimberly’s eyes on her partly exposed chest.

 

“I guess we’ll see each other on Monday?”

 

It was the first weekend they’d been granted freedom. No training. 

 

Just a couple of days to get their shit together, recover from some bruises and cuts, and clear their minds. And it had only been after a lot of whining that they’d actually gotten this break.

 

“Yeah.” Jason smiles. “We’re all coming after school, right? I propose a good old fashioned race!”

 

“Why are you such a masochist, dude?” Zack punches the Red Ranger lightly on the arm. “Didn’t you suffer enough ass kicking today? I’m pretty sure you spend more time on the ground trying to fight me.”

 

“Maybe I like it rough.” Jason pushes Zack away as he laughs.

 

Trini turns to Kimberly, who is walking by her side silently chuckling, and rolls her eyes. “Boys.”

 

“Oh, come on! You love us.”

 

“No, I’m pretty sure I don’t.”

 

They arrive at Billy’s house. He lives closer to the mine.

 

It had become routine by now, stopping by his house to drop him off. They didn’t even think about it anymore, they all just walked together to Billy’s house, and then Kimberly’s. 

 

Jason and Trini had to walk through that side of town anyway to get to where they each lived.

 

Zack didn’t. But nobody questioned why he went with them instead of heading straight home.

 

They all knew he probably wasn’t in a rush to get there.

 

Billy waves his hand at them as goodbye and turns to head inside the house, but ultimately thinks it over and stops. He turns around and goes to hug each one of them individually.

 

Zack and Trini pat his back uncomfortably, but Jason and Kimberly hug him back enthusiastically.

 

“See you on Monday!”

 

And with that, Billy is gone and the rest of them continue their way through the now dark and silent town.

 

****

 

Trini can’t sleep.

 

It probably has something to do with the fact that it’s barely 9pm on a Friday night, and obviously not late enough for her body, tired as it may be from the training. It’s too early.

 

The only reason she’s already in bed is because she wants to avoid her family at all cost. She wants to avoid her parent’s questions and their passive-aggressive comments about… everything.

 

She doesn’t have answers to their questions.

 

And even if she could _try_ to explain to them what has been going on lately in her life (well, she kinda did _try_ that one time during lunch, even if she’d said it with a monotonous sarcastic tone that guaranteed her parents wouldn’t take her seriously), she couldn’t. 

 

They were Power Rangers. But they couldn’t tell anyone.

 

“What’s the point of being a superhero if you can’t even brag about it?”

 

She shook her head to dismiss that thought and she tried again to fall asleep.

 

****

 

The walls asphyxiate him. There is too much silence.

 

If he deson't move and he pays attention, he can hear the faint sound of his mom’s breathing.

 

But the stifling silence all around him is driving him crazy.

 

Zack is astonishingly bad at being alone for all the time he spents on his own. Or maybe it's the fact that he had been all week with the other Rangers, and now he doesn't quite know how to be alone anymore.

 

He sats up on the couch and grabs his binder. 

 

He needs some air.

 

****

 

Jason arrives at the place they spent their camping night. There are still pieces of wood in the ground, and a black spot where they made the fire days before.

 

He thinks about that night, and for the first time wishes he had opened up more to the rest of the team.

 

He starts looking for more wood and branches. It’s not like he has much of an idea of what he’s doing, but he doesn’t think making a fire can be that difficult.

 

He’s wrong.

 

Without Zack’s help, it turns out to be incredibly frustrating and unsuccessful. He gives up after fifteen minutes and he sits near the result of his failed attempt, letting his body relax for the first time that day. He proceeds to grab a small rock and draw lines on the ground.

 

“Wow, you really sucked at that.”

 

He acts impulsively, and throws the rock towards the direction of the voice, startled.

 

Billy catches it effortlessly. He stares at it, a puzzles expression on his face.

 

“Why are you giving me this?”

 

“I…” Jason lets out a relieved laugh when he realizes it’s just the other Ranger. “I’m sorry, you scared me.”

 

“Oh.” Billy shrugs and walks towards Jason, sitting next to him and giving him back the stone. Jason accepts it with an awkward nod.

 

“What are you doing here, Billy?”

 

Billy shifts uncomfortably. “I have to be here.” 

 

He says it with determination, but he sounds tired, and although Jason doesn’t want to upset him, he’s worried. He feels an instinct inside him to protect the rest of the team. He has to know if Billy is okay.

 

“I’m sorry, I- I don’t understand.”

 

Billy nods to himself several times before he explains. “It’s just a routine thing. I…- Since we did the campfire the other night, I have to come here for a while before I go to sleep. Otherwise, it drives me crazy.” He avoids Jason’s stare.

 

“Hey, it’s okay.” He puts his hand on Billy’s shoulder. “I’m glad I decided to come too so you’re not alone.”

 

“Me too.”

 

They both turn to their left when they hear the sound of feet on the ground to see Trini with Kimberly.

 

The Yellow Ranger takes a look at them. “Woops, sorry guys, didn’t mean to interrupt your date.”

 

Billy smiles, oblivious to the sarcasm. “It’s okay! We can all hang out!”

 

Kimberly doesn’t miss the way Jason stares at Billy as if he’s the most beautiful thing on this earth. Besides, it’s not as if she disagrees.

 

She grabs Trini by the arm and drags her towards the other two. She then starts making a fire with the help of Billy.

 

A couple of minutes later, there’s a fire big enough to warm all of them, and Jason rolls his eyes as Kimberly rubs it in his face. They all make small talk about being unable to fall asleep after the adrenaline of the last week, avoiding to talk about the fact that they’re all so used to spending time with each other now that it is weird to spend a whole weekend apart. Jason wonders if it has anything to do with their part as a superhero team. Maybe they’re supposed to have this bond so that they always remain close.

 

It's ten minutes later when the last member of the group appears.

 

“You guys better not be doing this shit without me.”

 

Trini smirks at Zack as he walks towards them. “Oh, does Zack Taylor actually like us? Does he want to sit by the fire with us and tell us how much he’s missed us?”

 

“You do realize you’re also here, right, Trini Cheese Beanie?”

 

She snorts and shakes her head. “…cheesy beanie? What the-”

 

“It’s because your beanie is yellow. I think.” Billy explains. “Also, you’re the Yellow Ranger, so that’s like… double yellow. Or maybe he was referring to the meaning of cheesy, which could also be interpreted as lacking style or good taste.”

 

“Thank you, Billy.” Zack can’t help but grin at Billy’s smile.

 

Trini pretends to be annoyed at all of them. “Either way, that was an awful nickname, even for you.”

 

They sit for a while in silence, sharing the warmth of the fire, and looking at the stars, too bright in the sky above them.

 

“Do you guys think we’re ready?”

 

They all understand what Jason means with that.

 

“No. We can’t even morph, for god’s sake.”

 

“I don’t think we’ll ever be ready to fight.”

 

“Kim, do you have to be such a downer?”

 

“Hey, you started it!”

 

Jason chuckles, amused, as he lays his back on the ground and stares at the numerous constellations he never bothered to learn.

 

Trini stares at him. “What the hell you laughing at?” 

 

“Nothing.” He can feel her eyes on him, though, and he feels to need to explain. “Look at us! We’re such a fucking mess!”

 

“Yup, that we are.”

 

“Shup up, Zack.”

 

“Make me.”

 

“Well,” Billy interrupts the banter and they all get quiet, the soothing effect of the Blue Ranger acting as a temporary distraction. “I think we should know more about each other.”

 

Zack shifts uncomfortable. “Why?”

 

“Because we’re not gonna be a good team until we trust each other. Until we really _know_ each other.”

 

“Billy’s right.” They all look at Trini with surprised expressions. They were certainly not expecting that response from the short and moody girl. “What? I may not be into the corny shit some of you pull out of your asses, but I’m not stupid. Billy was able to morph because he _cared_. It makes sense. And we won’t be able to truly care about each other if we don’t know shit about who we really are.”

 

“That was beautiful.”

 

“Shut up, Zack.”

 

Jason nods at Billy. “Okay, country boy. Let’s do this.”

 

Silence surrounds them again, and they wait expectantly for someone to break the ice.

 

Kimberly sighs as she moves closer to the others near the fire. “I have something to share with the rest of the class.”

 

Billy smils appreciatively. “Great!”

 

And so, Kimberly tells them everything.

 

(Trini holds her hand through all of it.)


	2. Chapter 2

Zack is the first to talk after Kimberly’s confession. “Wow. I just- I don’t know dude, that was not cool…”

 

“I know.” She feels like she should say more, but the truth is that she feels too ashamed.

 

“Well, I think that’s what’s important. The fact that you recognize what you did was wrong and you want to learn from it.” Jason smiles at her as he talks, and she feels slightly better.

 

Zack nods. “Yeah, I guess we’ve all done some shit.”

 

“I haven’t.”

 

“Billy, you took your mom’s van. And crashed it. Also, you illegally deactivated my ankle monitor.”

 

“Oh.” Billy makes a pensive face. “I guess we’ve all done some… stuff, yeah.”

 

The mood turns dark again, as they all think about the past. Jason feels his chest crushing his lungs until he can’t breathe properly, but he tries to fight the anxiety by thinking of the members of the team.

 

He can’t wait to stop feeling like this every time he thinks about his mistakes.

 

“I did ballet as a kid.”

 

They all turn to look at Trini.

 

Zack snorts, loud, before he catches himself.

 

“No.”

 

“Mhmm.”

 

“Are you screwing with us?”

 

“Nope.”

 

The tension disappears as they are try not to laugh their asses off at Trini’s face, which is quickly turning so red Jason thinks it is probably the same color as his shirt.

 

They keep laughing for a while after. None of them see Kimberly giving Trini a grateful smile.

 

The other girl just squeezes her hand.

 

****

 

Zack wakes up with a dull pain in his ribs.

 

He’s confused.

 

The sun is hitting him directly in the face, and he can smell dirt all around him.

 

He sits up, realizing every part of his body inches, only to see he’s still near the mine. They’ve fallen asleep on the ground around the fire. His face was resting on something soft, though. He’s sure of it.

 

It’s the only part of his body that doesn’t hurt.

 

He looks down. And he understands why.

 

He fell asleep on Jason’s chest.

 

His ears turn bright pink as he abruptly stands up, only to trip and fall on his face.

 

Great. Now _everything_ hurts.

 

The sound of his body hitting the ground like a beautiful but undignified sack of potatoes wakes up the others.

 

“You okay, man?”

 

He waves off Jason with a forced smile and he ignores the hand thrown his way. Once he’s up on his feet, he turns to his… 

 

Friends?

 

“I’m fine, don’t worry. But I gotta run, I should check on my mom and give her the morning pills.” He’s already walking away from the improvised campsite. “See you on Monday!”

 

He’s pretty sure he doesn’t breathe until he’s home.

 

Taking his shirt and his binder off, he hugs his torso.

 

That was too many hours.

 

He has to be more careful from now on.

 

****

 

He doesn’t see the others for the rest of the day. He plays chest with his mom until she falls into a restless sleep. Even then, he sits next to her and waits.

 

He waits for something, he’s not sure what. But nothing happens. The sun goes down. His mom wakes up. She tells him she’s hungry.

 

That’s good. That doesn’t always happen.

 

He makes some dinner.

 

He falls asleep next to her with a tear rolling down his cheek.

 

****

 

On Sunday he decides to go out for a walk.

 

He’s surprised when he sees Billy the moment he sets foot outside.

 

They don’t talk much. Billy asks about his mom and he shrugs, not sure how to respond.

 

Billy only nods and starts walking towards the mine. Zack follows him.

 

They hike the mountain for a couple hours, a comforting silence between them.

 

Billy doesn’t ask any more questions, and Zack appreciates him a lot for that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is very short, i know, but it was also a quick update so??? i guess it makes up for it???? probs not lol
> 
> also, if anyone could tell me the timeline of the movie i would be eternally grateful.. like, how much time passes from when they become rangers until they defeat repulsa? i am confusion EDIT: thanks guyss for the info!!
> 
> if it doesn't work out with this fic planning (lmao as if i had one of those....) we're all just gonna ignore canon mmm'kay?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the gang plays truth or dare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all mistakes are mine because sometimes i can't do words
> 
> thank you all for reading a commenting, you guys are the best

“Hey, that’s not fa-” 

 

Jason swallows the rest of the sentence when a particularly painful kick to the gut knocks him to the ground, landing next to an overly concerned Billy and a too-amused-for-his-liking Trini.

 

He stands up with some difficulty while rubbing his eyes. He can practically _feel_ Kimberly’s smirk.

 

“Wow, you rolled like a peg-top.”

 

“Yeah, Scott, nice moves you got there. Smooth.”

 

“Really _suave_.” Zack looks at Trini as he butts in, with an expression that reads _“See? Told you I can speak spanish”._

 

Trini’s expression shows that she is not impressed.

 

“You threw dirt in my eyes!” Jason is still staring at Kimberly in disbelief, probably still assuming the fact that he just got his ass kicked.

 

Kimberly shrugs, an overly innocent smile on her face. “It’s not like there’s a rule against that…”

 

“That is true!” Alpha 5 chimes in. “Now come on, don’t stand there! The enemy doesn’t wait! The enemy doesn’t rest!”

 

“…and apparently, the whole planet will die because the enemy threw dirt in our eyes…”

 

“Apparently.” Kimberly laughs and faces her new opponent, Zack, as Jason chuckles and sits on the ground waiting for one of his teammates bites the dust and changes places with him. 

 

Billy still ponders about their conversation as he faces Trini.

 

“Maybe we could wear like protective glasses?”

 

***

 

Jason stops when they walk past remains of the fire from two nights before. They all stop behind him, confused.

 

“We are training a lot.” Jason turns to look at them and they nod, even more puzzled. “But it’s still not working.”

 

“Dude, we’re trying. There’s not much else we can do.” Trini voices what most of them think.

 

“Well, I believe there is.”

 

Zack scoffs. “What, you keep thinking we should bring an ukulele and sing songs under the moonlight while we make s’mores?” 

 

Jason doesn’t answer.

 

It’s Kimberly who, to everyone’s surprise, takes a step forward and slowly sits on the ground. “Yep.”

 

“Well, I don’t know how to play the ukel-”

 

“As much as we have to learn to fight, we have to learn how to do it _as a team_ ”. Jason’s words earn a nod from Billy, a smile from Kimberly and an arched eyebrow from Trini. The last one was more than he expected, so he feels reassured as he keeps talking. “I think it’s time for a little more bonding time. Besides, I’m not really in the mood to go home.”

 

“I feel you on that, man.”

 

Kimberly nods at Jason and Zack. “Yeah. Same.”

 

“Your parents still haven’t got over you cutting your hair?”

 

Zack joins Kimberly on the ground.

 

“They're still recovering. How am I gonna do good at school? How am I gonna present a good image of myself? How am I gonna find a husband?” She throws her hands in the air exaggeratedly as she mocks her father, her accent coming through. “And also detention... I'm basically a criminal now in their eyes.”

 

Billy shakes his head and sits next to Kimberly, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I'm sorry.”

 

“Thanks. It's okay, it'll pass.”

 

Zack starts to make a fire as Jason looks closer over his shoulder to try to learn. Discreetly.

 

“Okay, bonding time. I get it. Whatever.” Trini says as she rummages through her bag to find her water bottle. “But I’m really hungry, so I’ll complain the whole time.”

 

“Oh.” Jason grabs his bag and opens it to reveal several sandwiches and snacks. “I forgot. I brought food.” 

 

They all stare at him.

 

Trini is pretty sure Zack is about to start crying.

 

“You… made sandwiches?”

 

“Yeah!” Jason realizes he’s being looked at as if he’s taken Rita Repulsa out of his freaking backpack. Or something equally as weird.

 

“I never thought I would say this. But Jason, you’re like a weird mom friend. A very very weird mom friend.” When Jason stares at him trying to decipher if that’s a good or a bad thing, Zack adds, “And I appreciate you.”

 

“Oh. Okay. You want the damn sandwiches or not.”

 

They all hurry to grab one, thanking the boy.

 

“Billy, this one’s for you. It only has peanut butter, cause I know you don’t like more than one thing on your sandwich and I wasn’t sure of what you wa-”

 

“That’s perfect! You’re the best.” The boy happily bites into it as Trini swears she sees Jason blush.

 

They eat mostly in silence, exchanging a few words here and there.

 

The sunset paints an orange color in the sky, which progressively turns into a colorful tone of purple. 

 

They pass a couple bottles of water around as they allow themselves a moment to rest.

 

Zack breaks the silence. “Okay. I got it!” At their confused looks, he explains. “I know how we can learn more about each other, and still make it somewhat fun.” He waits a few seconds to make sure his next words make the right impact. “We’re gonna play Truth or Dare.”

 

“OH, HELL NO!”

 

There it is. 

 

“What are we, eight?”

 

“I hate that game, it’s just an excuse to air everyone’s dirty laundry.” Kimberly adds.

 

Zack grins. “Exactly.”

 

“I think it could be fun.” They all turn to look at Billy, who looks almost embarrassed. And excited. “I just… I never had that many friends. So I never got to play any of those games.

 

There’s a few seconds of silence.

 

“Okay.”

 

“Fine.”

 

“All right.”

 

“That’s fair.”

 

***

 

“Zack!”

 

The boy pretends to think about it as he shoots Kimberly a lazy grin. “Dare.”

 

Trini claps her hands excited.

 

“Oooooh!” Jason move his eyebrows suggestively.

 

Kimberly smirks, and for the first time that day, Zack begins to be just _a little bit_ scared.

 

“Okay, this is actually a double dare, because _you-_ “ she points at Trini accusingly, “very cowardly chickened out of your last dare.”

 

She takes a deep breath as she struggles to not laugh. “Zack, I dare you to raise Trini up as you stand in that rock over there play out the The Lion King scene, you know which one.”

 

The circle erupts into laughter.

 

It takes almost half an hour to try to convince Trini and then fifteen minutes of Zack running after her, to even _attempt_ to follow Kimberly’s commands.

 

Zack manages though. He sings The Circle of Life thought the whole thing.

 

He also almost ends up with a black eye.

 

***

 

When it’s Jason’s turn, he picks truth and they all shake their heads. “Booooring.”

 

They are embarrassed at themselves for getting so much into the dumb game anyway. It turned out to be way funnier than they’d originally thought.

 

It’s getting dark.

 

They probably should head home soon.

 

But for now, just for a few hours, they forget about that. They just focus on being teenagers for a little bit.

 

“Okay, okay. I have a question for you, sir Jason Lee Scott, Lord of the Sandwiches.”

 

“And I’ll be happy to answer it... Probably.” He makes a pensive face. “Maybe?”

 

Trini asks her question. “Who was your first kiss?”

 

Zack complains loudly and Billy scoffs. “It was probably some cheerleader! Ask him something embarrassing!”.

 

“Yeah.” Kimberly points at Billy. “He’s right. Who was it, Jessica? Emma? Liz?”

 

“No way it was Liz. She’s been with Evan since forever.”

 

They start arguing among themselves. 

 

Each of them placing their bets on a girl from school.

 

Neither of them noticing Jason’s face, turning a deep shade of red that quite resembles his Power Coin.

 

“Uhh. Guys?” Billy point out at Jason and they stop yelling to look at their teammate. “What’s wrong with him?”

 

Jason swallows when he notices their eyes on him, and tries unsuccessfully to make his skin return to a normal human color. 

 

“Well, shit if I know…” Zack gets closer to him. “I personally think this guy has something he really doesn’t want to say, and he’s… embarrassed?”

 

“Cough up. Who kissed you first, tomato boy?”

 

He clears his throat. It’s dry as a desert, and he tries to hide a cough.

 

“I…” 

 

He’s not embarrassed.

 

He’d just prefer not to disclosure this kind of information to four kids that are basically strangers to him (except for the fact that a weird robot and a face in a wall said they would save the day one day together, but _still_ ). 

 

It’s not-

 

He’s just not _comfortable discussing this._

 

Or at least he never was before, because he had a reputation at school.

 

But what does he have now?

 

He thinks about it.

 

“The captain of another team. Jake. After a football game.”

 

They’re all too stunned at his response to respond.

 

He shrugs, trying pretend it’s no big deal, when it’s something he’s been actively keeping from people for years. “He was hot.”

 

“Holy shit!”

 

Before he realizes what’s happening, Zack tackles him into a hug that leaves them both sprawled on the ground. Kimberly jumps on top of them and Trini joins in short after.

 

"What the hell guys?"

 

"Oh, shut up. You love this."

 

He laughs as he complains about their weight, and pretends he’s annoyed by them when he actually feels nothing but happiness.

 

Billy helps them get up.

 

"You've dated girls, though, right?"

 

"I'm bisexual." He breathes out, a smile on his face. "Wow... I'd never said it out loud."

 

He feels a sense of relief he wasn't expecting. He quickly feels awkward, though, at the fact that they're all looking at him. “Okay. My turn!” He turns to Trini. “Truth or Dare, Yellow Ranger?”

 

“Dare.”

 

“Lick the ground.”

 

“Oh, fuck off.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i can't believe i'm bACK
> 
> i'm very sorry about not updating, i kinda had top surgery and i'm also kinda finishing my masters and i also kinda hate everything (not my chest tho, top surgery is the best thing that has happened to me) and also i'm the worst at finishing fics  
>  bUT
> 
> here's another chapter and i'm writing the next one, which i promise with focus A LOT on zack (i know it's what u guys want)
> 
> as always, sorry for the mistakes, i don't have a beta and i'm also a lil drunk :)

Zack gets the text when he’s about to grab his jacket to go train with the others in the pit.

 

He’s aware of the fact that he has skipped class for three days straight now, but his mom is not doing well, and he’s been feeling like shit.

 

He knows going to school will only worsen that. It doesn’t matter that nobody knows him, or even looks at him. He’s still anxious most of the time he spends surrounded with people. 

 

People who at any moment could become aware of the bump in his chest. It doesn’t matter how flat it looks to them, he will never feel _right_. He will always be on the edge, waiting for something bad to happen.

 

And between his mom and the whole being a superhero (or whatever) thing, he really can’t deal with it right now.

 

That’s why the moment he sees the words “everybody go grab your swimsuits, it’s time for a dip in the river!” followed by at least 4 inappropriate “wet” jokes, he feels his heart drop.

 

_No._

 

****

Kimberly is the first one to take off her shirt.

 

And, fuck, they all pretend they’re not staring, but it’s just… impossible. 

 

Zack is pretty sure he sees Trini choke on _air_ and trying to disguise it as a murmured comment about “pink bikinis” and “you really don’t have any other color?”.

 

But the truth is, he’s not really sure about what exactly she’s going on about, because at the same time Jason decides to take off his own shirt and pants, showing shamelessly his underwear for five _glorious_ seconds before he puts on some colorful boardshorts.

 

Billy goes next, excited.

 

“Yeah, guys, I’m… very happy for your lack of personal dignity and all, but I’m gonna go change behind a tree or something.” Trini rolls her eyes as she distances herself from the group, her bag in her hand. “Freaking weirdos.”

 

“Oh, come on! I showed mine, now show me yours…”

 

Even Zack gulps at Kim’s flirtatious tone. He watches amused, though, as Trini trips on a stick and manages to catch herself just in time to not fall face first into the ground. 

 

“I… I- have to… go” She babbles incoherently as she leaves, not before shooting a glare towards Kim’s direction.

 

Well. _Okay_.

 

Billy says something about being sweaty from training and he grabs Jason’s hand to lead his towards the water.

 

Zack is not sure when those two became so touchy, but he feels a weird sense of pain in his chest. Almost like… jealousy?

 

That’s fucking ridiculous.

 

He shakes his head and follows them, with Kim behind.

 

****

“Zack…”

 

He freezes.

 

They’re all swimming. Sometimes jumping off some rock to fall deep into the water. Sometimes simply letting their bodies float directionless on the surface.

 

And everything had been good. Great even. None of them had mentioned _it_.

 

But he feels the question coming now.

 

“Why are you wearing your shirt?”

 

“Yeah dude, I mean, it’s cool! But it’s just us, you know?”

 

He doesn’t know what to say.

 

So he just shrugs. “I burn easily.”

 

He winks at them, fills his lungs with air and dives deep into the water.

 

Billy looks at the others confused while he points the obvious. “It’s almost nine. The sun has already set.”

 

They all forget about it, though. They’re not idiots. 

 

The boy is not comfortable talking about it, so they will respect that.

 

So, to distract from the awkward moment, Jason jumps from behind Trini and unceremoniously pushes her head underwater.

 

“YOU- F-SAHVKFJGUCKING ASSHO- LE”

 

****

 

“Oh my god, Jason is such an ass.”

 

Trini doesn’t really know how she found herself walking next to Kim, alone at almost midnight in a barely lit creepy street. She barely remembers the fact that Kim forgot a towel, so they shared hers, and at some point she told the other girl she’d walk her home, because _of course_ the taller girl could not go home alone with wet clothes and-

 

And to be honest? Trini realizes she’s an idiot.

 

And she knows very well how she got into this.

 

_Why did pretty girls turned her into this mess of a person?_

 

“Yeah, he kinda is.” Kim laughs as she remembers Jason and Trini full on fighting in the river trying to drown each other. “But it’s cute sometimes.”

 

Trini suddenly feels as if someone had punched her in the guts,

 

She should’ve imagined.

 

Why the fuck did she always had to fall for the straight girls?

 

She struggles to get air into her lungs, and it takes her a few seconds to realize Kim has stopped walking. She also stops.

 

And now she wonders why the hell are the two of them standing dramatically in the middle of the street _when everything around them is dead silent._

 

This is how people die.

 

But she stops thinking about all that the moment she sees Kim smiling and opening her mouth to say something. “You’re pissed because I like Jason?”

 

Trini forces a weird laugh. “Wha- Pfff! I’m not pissed?”

 

“Yes. You kind of are.”

 

“I’m not!”

 

“Trini.”

 

She swallows, understandably confused at the whole situation.

 

“Why do you care?”

 

Kim sighs, and she feels her mean exterior crumble when the other girl takes a few steps towards her. “Okay, I think we should talk about it.”

 

“About what.”

 

“About the fact that you’re jealous of Jason-” Trini opens her mouth to protest but Kim raises one hand to stop her “- when I never said I didn’t have feelings for you.”

 

“What- what does that mean?”

 

“It means that I like you. But it also means that I think I like Jason too.”

 

Trini feels everything spin around her. She doesn’t understand.

 

The girl she likes just confessed to liking her.

 

But-

 

_No._

 

She still wants to barf at the idea of seeing Kim and Jason together.

 

“Yeah, well, you might be a little late on that, cause I’m pretty sure Jason and Billy are preparing to get married at any moment.”

 

She can’t help it. She feels just a little bit of satisfaction while saying the words. She doesn’t know where this sudden urge to make Kim feel just a little of her pain came from, but she’s pretty sure she’s gonna feel a lot worse later at night when she remembers saying those words.

 

“I know.” 

 

Kim is still smiling at her. And she feels like a child. A confused immature child that just _doesn’t understand_.

 

“That’s actually my house over there. You should get home and dry your hair or you’re gonna get sick.” She approaches Trini to put the towel over her shoulders. “Good night, Trini.”

 

The small girl feels the ghost of a kiss on her cheek, but before she turns her head to make sure she didn’t imagine it, Kim is already opening the door to her house and getting inside.

 

And the only question in her mind is _what the hell just happened?_.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> from now on, it's all post-movie
> 
> (title of the chapter would be "tropes, tropes, tropes")
> 
> Thank you all for your amazing comments!

Zack Taylor likes to believe he's a simple guy. 

 

Not that anybody else agrees with him. 

 

But he _is._

 

He says what he thinks, he does what he wants, and he doesn't have regrets.

 

And he certainly doesn't have many of those thing people call "feelings" or whatever. Life's hard enough already.

 

He has never kissed anyone. So what?

 

He also has never had that many friends.

 

Not a problem.

 

He prefers being on his own anyway.

 

Friendships, relationships... they're all the same. Messy. Conmplicated.

 

Zack Taylor doesn't do complicated.

 

_So why the hell did he agree to have a sleepover with the boys?!_

 

It had probably been the residual exhilaration from seeing Jason bitch-slap Rita Repulsa into the next universe, consecuently saving their little stupid town from the bad guys.

 

_They had won._

 

He had felt for once in his life like he mattered. Like, in a cosmic-relevant-way, _he mattered._

 

He had saved people.

 

And now he had friends. They were not only hanging out with each other because they had to learn to use their powers. They were just hanging out because they were friends.

 

And that...

 

That was something troublesome for him.

 

****

 

Billy's mom greets him at the door with a hug. Zack is surprised, but he manages to detach his arms from his body enough so that the woman doesn't feel like she's hugging a piece of concrete.

 

"Come inside, love! The boys are downstairs, do you want something to drink or a snack?"

 

She's amazing.

 

Zack loves his mom. He really really loves her.

 

But she misses what a normal family life would be like. The life he would have if his mom wasn't sick.

 

He feels selfish.

 

Billy's mom gives him a glass with soda and he walks down the stairs with his heart beating fast in his chest.

 

****

 

It's easier once he realizes nothing has changed. Everything is different but nothing _feels_ different.

 

Jason has brought his console. They play videogames, alternating the controllers so that two of them are playing while the other one is cheering. Or most probably eating all the junk food and screaming at whichever player he has chosen to pick on.

 

The get bored after a couple hours, and Billy convinces them to play Trivia on the floor. It's already past midnight, but they are too awake to even pretend to go to sleep.

 

Billy's mom appears on the stairs to wish them good night, but then she winks at them.

 

"Billy! Okay..." Jason takes a card and shoots the other boy a mischievous look. "What is a group of owls called?"

 

The blue ranger has not lost one single round. He has answered every single question correctly.

 

And Zack laughs when he realized it's driving Jason insane. Probably cause the boy is not doing so good on his own.

 

Not that Zack can say much.

 

He's obviously losing. 

 

But he doesn't even care. Seeing the other two playfully try to one-up each other is definitely more fun than counting how many answers he has gotten right.

 

"A parliament."

 

"DAMN IT."

 

Billy laughs and grabs a card.

 

"Zack! Who came up with the three laws of motion?"

 

"My grandma."

 

Jason's soda ends up coming out of his nose.

 

Billy is not amused.

 

****

 

They bring a couple mattresses down to the basement, and around 2am they accept that their energy has reached level 0 and they need to go to bed.

 

Billy says he needs space to sleep. Otherwise he feels anxious.

 

"It's cool. Zack and I will share." Jason is already sitting on one of the makeshift beds.

 

Zack starts sweating.

 

But he is so tired that the moment his body touches the soft surface of the mattress, he falls asleep.

 

****

 

There's something around him.

 

But he is warm, and it feels nice. Very nice, actually.

 

He's not entierly aware, but he already knows this is the best sleep he's had in a few weeks. Besides, the pillow is incredibly comfortable.

 

And soft. He smiles at the coziness of it all and-

 

Shit.

 

_Shit._

 

The smile freezes on his face when he remembers they never actually grab any pillows last night. They fell asleep before they could.

 

He tries to move. But it's as if his body is made of cement.

 

Jason's left arm is around him, his body is pressed agains Zack's back, and Zack's head is reasting on the other boy's right arm. _And Zack is frozen_.

 

He must've waken Jason with his heavy breathing though, because the read ranger moves his left arm slighly, coming to rest of Zack's waist.

 

Fuck.

 

He turns around with a sudden movement, startling Jason, who opens his eyes. He blinks, a confused expression on his face, and directs Zack a hazy look. 

 

Zack stares at him.

 

Jason's eyes suddently focus on his left hand.

 

It's on Zack's chest.

 

_It's on Zack's chest._

 

The black ranger jumps from the mattress, landing on the floor with a thud. He gets up quickly.

 

Backpack.

 

Door.

 

 

And he's out of the house before Billy even raises his head from his own bed.


	6. Chapter 6

It's dark already when Trini manages to put her bothers to sleep, after numerous arguments and attempts at blackmail. She'd been really close to giving up, but her parents were out, and if the next day the kids were impossible to wake up at their usual time to go to school, then they'd become annoyingly suspicious of her. She can already hear her mom's voice.

 

"We can't even let you one night to take care of them, you just _don't care_ about anything, do you Trini?"

 

Yeah, hard pass.

 

So she plays with them for a whole hour. Chases them around the house. Until at around 11:30pm they are too exhausted to keep going, and they fallsleep in their beds.

 

But now she is also freaking tired.

 

The clock on her nightstand glares at her with the numbers 11:54 in fluorescent yellow and she blinks while she wonders when did she become such a grandma. "Probably when i saved the whole town and i didn't even get a back massage as a thank you."

 

She closes her laptop and decided to make it an early night. Her pants are thrown to the floor, she changes her shirt for a bigger one (maximum comfort) and she turns off the lights.

 

And when she's starting to drift off to a magical land of sleep, a loud noise coming from her window startles her.

 

She stares at the figure that has awkwardly stumbled to the floor in a lame attempt at fashionably entering through her already opened window.

 

The figure stares right back at her with a badly disguised smile on her lips.

 

Kim. Obviously.

 

"Hi."

 

She wants to ask what the other girl is doing in her room. She wants to ask if something bad has happened.

 

Instead, she says. "Uh, hi."

 

So smooth. 

 

But then again, Kim just fell on her face in front of her.

 

Kim walks until she's closer to get and sits on the edge of the bed, as if _any of this was totally normal._

 

"I just... we never got to talk after our last conversation that day on the street and then the battle happened, and... I just wanted to make sure that you were alright." She's fidgeting with her hands nerviously. "Also, make sure that we were alright."

 

Trini is about to say that no, she's not completely alright, and that yes, _they_ are alright.

 

She thinks it's more effective to take Kim's face between her hands, carefully, and kiss the other girl.

 

Kim smiles, biting her lower lip as she observes Trini's face, an intense look in her eyes. "Also, there was something I wanted to talk with you." 

 

****

The door closing forcefully behind him startles. It's at moments like that, when Zack forgets for moment the extent of his own strength, that he feels overwhelmed by everything that has happened the last few weeks.

 

_Weeks._

 

It seems even ridiculous to think that not even a month ago, he was just an average teenager, angry at the world, using every change he got to prove that _he was still here and he was not going anywhere._

 

And now?

 

Now he doesn't feel like he wants to prove anything. He just wants to have his little life, with his friends (...or whatever they are). Hell, days ago he just wanted to survive.

 

And now he might lose it all. Everything he has worked so hard for.

 

Now they would all look at him differently.

 

He finally felt like a Ranger. He felt like one of them.

 

And ultimately what scares him the most is to think about his friends making him feel like he doesn't belong.

 

He desperately wants to belong.

 

****

 

Jason walks from his bedroom door to the bed. He sits down. 

 

He stands up again and walks to the door, only to turn around and walk back to the bed.

 

_6 times_

 

Before he finally gathers up the courage to pick up his phone and dial Zack's number. It rings for a while but he waits stubbornly for the other boy to pick up. He doesn't want to think about Zack not picking up. It took him more than fifteen minutes to feel prepared enough to call, if he has to do it again it might take the whole morning. It's not as if he knows exactly what he has to say. He doesn't even know what he wants to say. And that's without getting into what _Zack will let him say_ because he knows damn well how much the guy like to talk about anything that involves feelings or-

 

"Hi Jason."

 

He opens his mouth but he totally lost his train of thought there and now he doesn't even know how to-

 

"Umm, Scott?"

 

"I- yeah! Hi!" 

 

He waits for Zack to say something, but the line is dead silent.

 

Okay.

 

"Hey, dude, I'm just calling to making sure you're alright."

 

He hears Zack shift uncomfortably at the other end of the line. "Why wouldn't I be."

 

_Oh, come on._

 

"Because you ran out of Billy's house faster than Trini runs out of a vegetarian restaurant, that's why." Jason hears his words coming out tentatively and soft. He wants to speak to Zack with confidence. He wants to have a relaxed conversation about it. 

 

But he feels Zack going into defensive mode every second that passes and he feels insecure about his words.

 

"Oh, well, i'm okay. I just had stuff to do."

 

He decides there and then that he doesn't feel like speaking between lines. He's never been smart enough to maintain a conversation with double meaning. For god's sake, all intelligence points he might have had disappeared when he fucked up royally with the bull prank.

 

"Zack, I'm sorry, but it's blatantly obvious that you've been hiding something from us. You never change clothes in front of Billy and me, the thing about you not taking off your shirt at the lake, this morning... I- I don't want to assume, but-"

 

"But what?"

 

Shit. He's not entirely sure he's doing this right. Zack sounds weird.

 

"Nothing. I just want you to be able to talk to us if somethig is bothering you."

 

"Okay, thanks, I'll take it into consideration."

 

Great, now he's defensive.

 

"Come on, Zack. Don't be like that."

 

There's no answer. He thinks the other boy might have already hung up, but the call is still going.

 

"We're all worried about you. And now that I know... I don't know, I just feel like I understand better, you know? It makes sense. That's why I think you should tell the others-"

 

"Oh, fuck off!" The shouting takes Jason by surprise. "Right, i should just tell the others... Cause clearly you're the authority in these cases. Hell, you're the authority in _all cases_ apparently. Is this the part where you say that if I don't tell them, you will?" Jason tries to say something, anything, but Zack is talking too fast and he _doesn't understand._ "Well, do it, see if I give a shit."

 

And he hungs up.

 

Jason lets his body fall on top of the bed, and he covers his face with his hands. _Yeah, I definitely didn't do that right._

 

"Shit."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's gonna be okaaaaaaaay
> 
> jason is that cis person who means well but you're like "... dude no, just shhh" but he knows ok, he knows what he gotta do know


	7. Chapter 7

**_6 years before_ **

 

_He can feel the water on his skin. It's cold._

 

_At first it was just a few drops, falling onto his skin intermittently. A light rain._

 

_It was not like that now._

 

_Now the sky was angry. And he shivers under his shirt, too big for his body. He doesn't care. It's one of the only three he has from the boys' section._

 

_He grips the shirt anxiously as he watches his father walk towards him. He waits for the man to hug him, even thought that has never been an established practice between the two of them. But maybe now._

 

_Maybe his dad didn't really mean it when he said he was leaving. Maybe he's only away for a couple of days. Maybe he'll stop now in front of him and hug him, and he'll say everything is alright. That's what fathers do._

 

_They're not supposed to leave._

 

_The man walks past him without even looking in his direction, the same expression on his face as when the kid's mother explained carefully to him a week before why his son was wearing boy's clothes._

 

_He watches as his dad gets into the car and drives away. He can hear his mother crying._

 

_She gets closer to him. She hugs him, shielding him from the rain._

 

_Zack Taylor stands in front of the window in his room, inside their beautiful suburban house, watching the road all night._

 

_He swears he won't stop waiting, eager to prove everybody wrong. His dad will come back._

 

_Five months later, his mother gets sick._

 

_He stops looking out the window._

 

_****_

 

Jason doesn't call again. Zack feels bittely disappointed but also _so relieved_  by that.

 

He doesn't like to think about the call though. He really didn't manage that whole situation in a good way.

 

Doesn't mean that he would change anything if he could re-do it... He's stubborn that way. But, he still feels shitty about it.

 

Jason said the wrong thing, and he got scared.

 

He just wishes everything could go back to how it was before that night. 

 

He kicks a rock. It rolls down the hill until a cliff. It falls, and Zack hears the splash against the water seconds later. It's the first time he's been around the mine alone in a while. Billy usually came with him for a walk when he didn't want to be home.  _When he didn't want to be with his mom because the thought of her dying in front of him without there being anything he could do scared him more than anything in his life._

 

Billy would talk about everything and anything to distract him. It always worked.

 

A sudden pain in the back of his head startles him, and he screams while turning around and tripping. 

 

Trini is standing there, just... fucking laughing at him.

 

"Are you crazy? Did you just throw a rock to my head?"

 

"Dude, you've got superpowers, stop the drama."

 

"You could've killed me, you asshole!"

 

Trini rolls her eyes and walks a few steps in his direction. "I thought it was appropiate with the situation. You looked so tragic there, standing near the cliff with the wind blowing your hair, I don't know, I felt the sudden urge to ruin the moment."

 

"That is the most comforting thing I've heard in a while." He smiles at Trini, while they both sit on the ground next to each other.

 

He watches confused as Trini opens her bag and takes out a hoodie. She hands it out to him, and he recognises it. He had let her borrow it a few days before, during a particularly cold night while they were on a walk.

 

It's getting chilly. And his usual black shirt does not offer a lot of protection against the wind. He puts in on, and resists the urge to hide under the hood. Instead he lets his face visible and he turns to Trini.

 

"Why are you here?"

 

"I could hear you brooding from my house."

 

He pushes her and she falls sideways to the ground, chuckling.

 

"Seriously."

 

Trini pushes herself off the ground and, after flicking a rock at him, she sits again next to him, this time a little bit closer.

 

"I was hanging out with Kim and Jason. And I asked Jason about the sleepover you guys had the other day, and he got weird about it."  She shrugs. "So i figured you'd be around here."

 

Zack doesn't like what Trini is implying. "Why?"

 

Still, she clearly doesn't expect a direct answer from Trini and he chokes on air when she says "Because you are in love with Jason." 

 

He's pretty sure he blushes  _violently_ , he can practically feel his whole face red as a tomato, glowing like a stoplight. Trini takes one look at him and struggles to not giggle.

 

"It was funny at first, because you're like, really good at driving Jason crazy. So when I realised that you were totally in love with him, I found it hilarious. But when Jason got weird about the sleepover..." She doesn't meet his eye, so that's how he knows this conversation is about to turn even more personal.  _They don't do personal._ "I figured you'd told him and he didn't feel that way."

 

He hears Trini districtly apologizing, for what, he is not sure at the moment. But it doesn't really register.

 

She doesn't know.

 

She thinks this whole weird thing between him and Jason is because he confessed his feelings to the boy and he had been rejected.

 

He lets Trini put an arm around his shoulder while he hides the amusement from his face. 

 

_HA! Me, in love with Jason Scott!! Now THAT's fucking hilarious._

 

****

 

They decide to head back to their homes not long after that. Zack doesn't say much, and Trini fills up the silence occasionally, but mostly they just walk in comfortable peace. Normally they'd be chasing each other or picking fights. But not today.

 

Trini turns to him when they get to the town. She says she's gonna walk him home, and he feels like he's being babysitted. "Oh, I just wanna say hi to your mom. Don't think you're the center of the universe."

 

"Too late for that."

 

Trini sighs dramatically. "Trust me, I know."

 

When they arrive to Zack's house, although if he's being honest he doesn't even know if he can call it that, what he finds is Jason stading there next to the door.

 

The boy raises his hand awkwardly as a greeting. 

 

"Umm. Hi, your mom said you were out, so I figured I would wait here."

 

He looks at Trini, hoping to communicate to the girl that he needs saving asap. She doesn't seem to understand though. Either that, or she doesn't give a shit. Probably the second. She makes a weird face, and then she raises her eyebrows.

 

And then she turns and she just... leaves.

 

Zack is not sure what either of them were trying to convey to the other with that non-verbal conversation, but he can't help but feel like they both failed miserably.

 

Jason is staring at him, looking nervous. 

 

"Hi."

 

Zack is tired of pretending to be impassive to everything all the time. He's tired.

 

"Jason, look-"

 

"No, no." Jason interrumps him. "Please, let me do this." 

 

Zack closes his mouth while the other boy continues talking. "I... I'm  _an idiot_. Okay? I'm pretty sure you know, hell, everyone knows. I'm like the dumbest biggest idiot ever. But still, it is not an excuse and i'm not using it as one. Just as an explanation. Because that's honestly the only reason I had to fuck up. Ignorance. And stupidity."

 

Zack walks a couple steps closer to the boy. "Okay, I'm listening." And Jason chuckles, and for a few seconds eveything is back to normal.

 

"I guess... I'm supposed to be the "leader" of the group, or whatever, At least, that's what I've been told. But sometimes I forget that the fact that I'm in charge of the group as Power Rangers does not mean I'm in charge of you guys as people. And it was truly idiotic on my part to try to tell you what to you. It's your private life."

 

Jason closes the space between them and places a hand on Zack's shoulder. "I'm just here to support you through it. I've got your back."

 

Zack is  _not_ about to cry. 

 

"I still don't want to talk about it."

 

Jason smiles and nods. "Okay, then we won't talk about it."

 

 

****

 

 

Three days later, they decide to spend the night at the campsfire again.

 

They have food and a bunch of card games, sleeping bags, and also a bottle of Jack Daniel's.

 

Zack observes his friends with increasing curiosity. He watches Kim and Trini hold hands under their blanket. He notices how Jason is now opently flirting with the pink ranger, and how Trini seems completely unperturbed by it. He notices how Billy claims to be cold even though he has the biggest blanket of them all to get Jason to sit closer to him. And he sees how the other boy does so with a huge smile on his face.

 

At first he feels a bit left out.

 

But then something way worse happens.

 

Jason catches him staring.

 

Zack must have a weird expression on his face, because Jason furrows his eyebrows and silently mouths the words "You okay?"

 

And in that moment, in front of the fire, as Jason looks at him and he feels himself unable to look away he realises...

 

Trini was right.

 

_He's falling in love with Jason._

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes, i am determined to finish this fic even if at this point nobody else cares lol   
> but hey, for the 3 people that do, thank you so much for the comments, even when i went months without updating
> 
> i almost gave up on this because i didn't know how to finish it, but i'll try my best. Also i splitted in two this last chapter, so there's still one left

It's not until his fifth drink that Zack starts to feel okay again.

 

He might be into Jason. Okay. So what?

 

Jason is obviously in love with Kim. Or Billy?

 

He's actually quite confused about those three.

 

It doesn't matter. He's already into someone else, and even if he wasn't, Zack is completely aware of the fact that he will never make a move on him. 

 

He has enough on his plate already.

 

But it's at that moment, as he looks around at his friends and realizes what they all have been through together, and how they still continue being there for each other when  _there is no need to anymore_... In that moment, he doesn't want to feel alone anymore, building walls around him and keeping secrets that are only bound to break his heart.

 

The moment Jason had figured it out had been terrifying. 

 

It had felt like jumping off a cliff with no parachute. Blindfolded.

 

But realizing nothing had changed was like falling all the way down and finding water at the bottom.

 

Like the first time they all jumped into the water and discovered a destiny bigger than all of them.

 

Like understanding that while the act of jumping was intimidating and scary, the landing was  _safe._

 

_He was safe._

 

"-right, Zack?"

 

He looks away from the fire to stare at Trini. "Huh?"

 

She doesn't look impressed by his daydreaming habilities. "Are you high?" She looks around. "Because unless you've been smoking dirt and rocks..."

 

Zack just rolls his eyes.

 

"Anyway, these two morons want to play charades and i'm sure you agree with me when I say that some of us still got enough dignity to refuse t-"

 

"Some of us, yeah," He interrumps Trini. "-but I'm heartbroken to say... _not you._ "

 

A candy bar hits him on the right side of his face.

 

Ouch.

 

He sobers up quickly though. If he wants to do this (and he's still not sure  _if he wants to_ ) it has to be now. It's frightening to even think about it, but it's worse to think about spending days and days working up the courage to do it, only to keep avoiding it at the last moment, afraid of exposing himself like that to the others.

 

No. If he's doing this, he's doing it now.

 

"Hey, guys?" 

 

Billy hears him first, and shushes the others, who seem to have discovered the fascinating joy of throwing candy bars at each others faces. The movement around the fire come to a halt, and they all turn gradually to look at him.

 

And Zack starts sweating.

 

"I..." Hell. This is hell. And he's hating every single second of it. "Fuck. Okay. I just need to say something important about me. I don't really know-"

 

He's distracted at that moment by the feeling of a couple of drops of water on his arm. He stops talking and shoots a confused look to the sky. Soon after, a gentle, soft rain starts falling on them, quickly into heavy rain soaking their thin clothes.

 

"Damn it!" Billy exclaims, the first one to get up from the ground.

 

They manage to gather all their stuff in a couple of minutes, racing down hill while the sky roars angrily above them.

 

Zack's heart is beating at an alarming pace. He's not sure if it's because of what was about to happen minutes before or from the running.

 

He feels irritated.

 

But he focuses himself to run. If there's one thing he knows how to do is running from his problems.

 

_He is_   _damn good at that._

 

_****_

 

They decide to go to Billy's house. As the boy points out, they clearly need some place with a ceiling and he tells them it will make his mom happy.

 

So they go to Billy's house.

 

His mom gives towels to every single one of them and Zack tries to at least pat his head dry with his.

 

They settle around the basement, and shortly after Billy's mom brings them a bowl full of popcorn. A few punches are thrown around in a violent dispute for the warm food.

 

Jason sits next to Zack, his right arm behind Zack, resting on the couch. Not quite on his shoulders, but close enough to make him nervous. "Hey."

 

"What's up?" Zack manages to say.

 

"About before... where you gonna tell the others?" Jason's face shows agitation and confusion.

 

When Zack simply nods, the boy stares at the floor, lips pursed. After a few (weird) seconds, he turns to look at Zack. "I just want to make sure you're not doing this because... Because of the stupid things I said the other day. I promise I'm not gonna say anything, and I understand if you feel like I can blab out at any moment and this is your way of-"

 

"No. No, no. Calm down." He puts a hand on Jason's knee to reassure him. "It has nothing to do with that." Jason sighs relieved and Zack continues. "I wanted to do it for myself, I just needed to get it out. I guess it was the moment... But it doesn't really matter now."

 

He shrugs. "The moment passed."

 

Jason shakes his head. "No, dude. I mean, it is okay if you don't feel ready. But if you want to do this..." He hesitates before carrying on. "There is no right moment. And there is no  _wrong_ moment. Okay?" He smiles at Zack. "Don't let the world decide for you."

 

After that, Jason joins the other on the floor, leaving Zack on the couch with a bunch of conflicting feelings. Great.

 

He sits for a couple minutes uncomfortably in his cold and damp shirt, the material sticking to his binder. It's annoying. It suffocates him, even though by now he's figured out it is not the preassure on his chest (he's used to that), but the fear of someone noticing.

 

He keeps softly pulling the fabric away from his skin every few seconds.

 

Billy disappears for half a minute and returns with a another shirt, this one definitely much less soaked in water.

 

Jason gets up from his spot on the floor and approaches him. Jason hears them talk while pretending to check his phone.

 

"Billy, can you bring me a shirt? This one is really uncomfortably wet and I don't wanna catch a cold."

 

"Oh, yeah. Give me a minute."

 

He comes back with a white shirt on his hand. "I don't know if it's gonna fit you, but it's the only one I have big enough cause the one you use is on the laundry banket."

 

And now there is total silence in the room.

 

Trini is the first one to break it. "Why is his shirt on the laund - OH."

 

KImberly also stares at the two boys. "Oh my g-"

 

Billy looks at Jason with panic. "I was not supposed to say that, was I? I was not supposed to say that!"

 

Jason grabs Billy by his arms before the boy starts spiraling. "Billy, it's okay."

 

"Is it? Or are you just saying that to calm me down but you're actually mad at me?" His eyes go wide. "I screwed up, didn't I?"

 

Jason shakes his head, still smiling. "Billy,  _it's okay."_

 

"Oh."

 

Jason's face is hilariously red when he turns to look at them, his hand still on Billy's arm. "And you all... shut your mouths."

 

Zack is pretty sure Jason is about to start laughing, and a quick look around confirms that Kim and Trini are also  _this_ close to losing it.

 

"So is it serious?" Kim asks, and... is it weird that Zack hears some jealousy in that question?

 

Jason starts fidgeting with the shirt in his hands as he glances at Billy, who doesn't say anything. "I... am not sure." He raise a little the shirt and makes a head motion towards the door. "I'm gonna go change."

 

There is a small bathroom in the basement. He closes the door once he's inside.

 

The tension of the moment seems to dissipate.

 

Until Billy makes an "oh" sound when he looks at Zack. "Do you want to change too? You must be really cold, Zack, you could've said something too." He leaves running and comes back seconds later with a black simple shirt. "Here, it's mine but it will fit you."

 

Zack is actually really grateful, and honestly excited to change into dry clothes.

 

Until he realizes they are all staring at him, and the only bathroom is occupied, and  _there is nowhere to change._

 

He sits again in the couch. "I'll... wait until Jason is done."

 

Kim makes a weird face. "I think I hear the hairdryer, and you know how that boy can get about his hair." She rolls her eyes. "It could take a while."

 

Trini snorts. "Come on, dude, don't tell me you are  _embarrassed_ to take your shirt off?" She covers her eyes with her hand. "Okay, not looking, better?"

 

Zack's stomach turns. He can't even find it in himself to laugh.

 

He just stands there, paralyzed.

 

The others look at each other, not understanding the awkwardness. But they must sense the boy is really not comfortable with this, and they reasume whatever game they were playing on the floor before.

 

"Actually..."

 

_There is no right moment._

 

He takes his shirt off.

 

It takes Billy, Trini and Kim and few seconds to realize.

 

They stare at his binder as he puts on the clean dry shirt.

 

He feels on autopilot. Like every muscle in his body is right now working with absolutely no imput from his brain.

 

"What-"

 

Jason opens the door of the bathroom in that moment, and they lock eyes across the room.

 

And Jason smiles at him and nods.

 

Zack looks at the others and and tries to gather all the courage he has left. "I'm trans."

 

****

 

The room is impossibly quiet now.

 

Billy looks at the others before saying "I don't understand."

 

By her expression, Kim doesn't either. But when Zack looks at Trini, he sees comprehension. It surprises him more than it should.

 

"I'm transgender." They start to grasp what he's trying to say. "You guys have only known me as Zack because I transfered schools when I was eleven. The old school was too expensive for us at that time anyway..."

 

Trini nods, assimilating the information. "How did we not know about this? I mean, it's a small town."

 

Zack shrugs. "I made sure to not hang around people too much."

 

Billy stares at him with an intensity that unsettles him.

 

And then he hugs him.

 

And it feels good. God damn it, Billy gives  _good_ hugs.

 

There's just something a bit weird about all this. "Billy, you don't like hugs."

 

The boy squeezes harder.

 

"Well, I do now."

 

****

 

Kim quickly notices that Jason is the only one to not react. Or at least, the only one who is not completely stunned by Zack's words.

 

She points a finger at him. "You knew?"

 

Jason looks at Zack, and the latter nods.

 

"Yeah. I found out." He says with a hand at the back of his head, hesitant.

 

Zack and him share a look.

 

The black ranger can't help a smile. "I let my guard down." 

 

It shouldn't sound flirtly.

 

Then, why does it?

 

Jason clears his throat and looks at the others. "I was also kind of a dick."

 

"Wait, wait, wait..." Trini butts in as she points at Zack. "Is that why you were so sad that day I found you in the mountain?"

 

Zack nods uncomfortable.

 

"Holy shit! That's so funny, I was completely sure you had been rejected by Jason."

 

Zack tries to grab something to throw at Trini. But he's not fast enough.

 

Oh god, he's gonna kill the girl.

 

Jason is looking at Trini like she grew a second head, and everyone els is either also staring at her or... at him. Kim is not fazed though, apparently. "Wait, was that a secret or something?"

 

Jason laughs nerviously as he refuses to look at Zack. "He's not into me, what are you talking about?"

 

And Zack feels the need to start running. Far, far away from here.

 

When no one answer, Jason looks directly at him. "Wait... are you?"

 

He can't answer that.

 

So he runs.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!! 
> 
> Also, if I messed up with Billy, please tell me. I'm not on the spectrum, so don't be afraid to scream at me is something is off.
> 
> You can find me at nofriesnoglory.tumblr.com
> 
> Love u


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